Best Classic Films of All Time

Entrepreneur Spencer Schar is a keen moviegoer, having developed a passion for films at an early age. This article will provide an overview of critically acclaimed classic movies that not only captured the imaginations of audiences of their time but continue to inspire and enthrall generation after generation. The attached infographic incorporates some interesting statistics about moviegoing in 2023.

Coming to America (1988)

Starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, and James Earl Jones, Coming to America is both a love story and a hilarious comedy. Murphy plays Akeem Joffer, Crown Prince of Zamunda, a fictional African nation. Joffer travels to the United States with his best friend and personal aide, Semmi, with the hope of finding a wife. The story follows their adventures living in Queens, New York, renting a squalid tenement under the guise of poor foreign students. The embedded video provides an overview of other popular 1980s comedies.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Directed by Billy Wilder and staring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Hot follows the story of the lead singer of an all-girl band, played by Monroe. As her band tours sunny Florida, the protagonist chaises her dream of wooing a millionaire. When two new musicians join the band, she does not realize they are men in disguise on the run. The attached PDF contains more information about Marilyn Monroe's iconic movie career.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To Kill a Mockingbird follows the story of Atticus Finch as told by his daughter, Scout. A smalltown lawyer practicing in the rural South, Atticus Finch defended a wrongfully accused black man in this award-winning adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic novel. Staring Mary Badham, Gregory Peck, and Robert Duvall, and directed by Robert Mulligan, this coming-of-age legal drama crime movie gained overwhelmingly positive reviews from both the public and critics at the box office, earning more than six times its budget.

Casablanca (1942)

This renowned black-and-white movie is set in in the Moroccan city of Casablanca during World War II. Played by Humphrey Bogart, the protagonist, Rick Blaine, is a nightclub owner whose establishment becomes a safe haven for refugees, despite repeated warnings from the local authorities. When an ex-lover and her partner appear on the scene, they bring with them a challenge that Rick is forced to confront. An unforgettable love story, Casablanca is one of the best-known Hollywood romances of all time.